Whispered Words
by ijustfuckinglovehetalia217
Summary: What friends would do for each other are remarkable? But could it really be only friendship between Francis and Gilbert?


Francis' eyes fluttered open to a soft, yellow light. It was dim around the room so he couldn't see much other than the bed he was lying on, and the strange, wooden bedside table. A tall, half-full glass of water stood on it, the water stagnant and unmoving. Finally, Francis stretched a little but with movements limited by the heavy weight on his body.

His eyes flitted down to what weighed him down. A clump of messy, blond, almost silver-like hair rested on his chest with long pale limbs covering him like a strange shield atop his stomach and on his legs. A soft sound of snoring could be heard from those soft, shell-pink lips and Francis couldn't help but smile as a hand ran through the silver locks very gently.

The things he did for his friend truly were remarkable. One could say he was ready to drop pretty much his everything for when Gilbert needed him, but even saying so wasn't necessary. Everybody knew that he valued the stubborn albino more than his worth. Perhaps he was worth a little more to Francis than he is with everyone else. He did all he could for their friendship that had outlasted centuries of battles and wars.

Through everything, Francis had always been the one to come through for Gilbert. He had been there to celebrate his victories and his successes no matter if it meant his loss. He had always been there to graciously console him during whatever failure. He had stood by him, despite Gilbert's heartbroken protests, when the Prussian Kingdom had been dissolved. He had always been there for him, for laughter and for his senseless fooleries and to provide solace for him in his withering moments of anxiety. Last night was one of the latter.

* * *

In the middle of the night, his phone rang and much to his distaste had startled him. With an air of utmost irritation, he answered it, only to find that it was a familiar voice, quivering lightly while saying "Please come here"

Francis needed no more than that. The tone of utmost fretfulness woke him up and had him out of his bed clothes in less than a minute. He rushed through the empty streets, blindly ignoring whatever rules were there, for why follow when nobody's there to see? Finally, he saw the familiar house and he shut his engines before running towards the front door of which he was so sure would be unlocked.

And he wasn't mistaken in this assumption. The knob turned with ease and he slipped into the house as quiet as he could possibly go and slithered his way to where he knew Gilbert's room would be. Softly, he tapped a special rhythm onto the door, just so that the man would know who it was, before he entered. The sight that greeted him almost made him wish he had come a little earlier.

For Gilbert sat on his bed, head raised just to see Francis with eyes that were clearly tearstained and petrified with a familiar kind of fear. Francis quickly closed the door and rushed to him and Gilbert re-shaped himself and reacted to Francis almost automatically, wrapping both arms around him like a life-saver. Francis' guided hands slowly rubbed on his back and tightened around him and he sighed softly.

"What happened, _Prusse?_" he murmured "What's wrong?"

It took a few sobs and a sniff before a thick, hoarse voice managed to answer him "Nightmare"

And that was it. Francis did not need any further explanation. Had it been another person and perhaps that would have been followed with questions regarding having to call him over for a nightmare or comments that pertained to such a child-like nuisance he had to be to disturb someone else in the middle of the night but Francis said nothing more. He didn't feel that way at all. He was only happy that he had come and that Gilbert was fine and that it was nothing more than he had feared it would be.

He gently ran his hand through Gilbert's hair and hummed softly, rocking him just a little bit to further calm him down. Without putting much thought into it, he pressed a kiss to Gilbert's forehead and squeezed his arm, all to which Gilbert responded to positively. After a long train of comfortable silence, Gilbert sighed and spoke.

"Sorry for being a bother Frankreich" he murmured, shame dripping onto his words

Francis only shook his head and kissed his forehead again "No, you're not a bother. You're never a bother"

Gilbert wormed his way just a little more to Francis, making their embrace more tangled in a way and Francis adjusted himself to make way for Gilbert to claim more of his body. They were already lying down together, with Gilbert laying beside him and over him. Then Francis tapped Gilbert's back gently. "So… do you want to tell me what happened in your nightmare? It's fine if you don't"

But Gilbert had already cleared his throat which gave Francis every hint that he was up for telling what had caused him to pull Francis for himself at such an ungodly hour. "I disappeared completely. I was there and nobody could see or hear me. I was calling out to you guys but you didn't notice-"

By the way he had stopped; there was probably more to it than that. Francis prodded him on gently and he continued. "… You saw right through me Francis. You looked right through me and then walked away." He mumbled, so low that if Francis was not so attuned to his voice, he never would have heard.

Francis could only sigh and begin rubbing his back again. That would never happen. He knew it. No matter whether Gilbert truly does disappear, he would always look for him. He would watch out for whatever sign he couldn't see or hear just to find Gilbert again. He didn't say it out loud but Gilbert must have felt it judging by the way Francis' hold tightened around him.

"I know you won't do that Frankreich. You're my very best friend. I know you'll find me" the childish contentment and assurance almost made Francis smile if it wasn't for the small pain in his chest when Gilbert had said the words 'best friend'.

He was about to say something when he heard a small familiar sigh, followed by the slowly loosening arms around him and the silence of still and even breathing. Looking down, he saw Gilbert's eyes closed shut and when he swept the hair away from his face, there was absolutely no reaction. He smiled at Gilbert's sleeping face. He looked like merely a child when he's like this.

Whatever Francis had to say must wait for when Gilbert was awake to listen. Then again, perhaps it didn't have to wait. Why should he wait? So he pulled Gilbert up very gently, careful not to wake him, and put his lips right beside his ear. With a voice more gentle than in any other words he had ever said before, he whispered

"Je t'aime Prusse"

He didn't know whether he has been heard or not but soon, he too fell asleep.

* * *

Arms began to unwind and their bodies began to untangle from their position the night before. Francis gracefully slid out of Gilbert's arms as he did his stretching while blue eyes watched him. After much movement and yawning, his red eyes began to search and upon landing on Francis, they relaxed.

"Hey man… you're still here" he said with a sleep-thickened voice

Francis chuckled and said "Well you did disturb my sleep mon amour. The most I could do was stay over. Unless you wanted me to go back home at what-… 5 am?"

Gilbert laughed and playfully thumped him on the head "Whatever. Who's making breakfast? Me or you..?"

"Won't Ludwig be surprised if I made breakfast? Since he wasn't aware of our rendezvous last night…"

Gilbert pondered over this and bounced a little in his bed "I guess. Huh… that means I'll make breakfast then. I hope you don't mind sausages and eggs…" he moved to scratch his head as he yawned one more time. Francis nodded and smiled.

"Frankly, sausages and eggs sound really good right now. I'm starving _Prusse…_"

Suddenly there was a strange blossoming of what looked to be a blush on Gilbert's face and he immediately stood up, facing away from Francis. Somehow the way Francis called him by his nation name seemed… intimate. He had nothing to say about it last night since it was as much as an intimate moment as it could possibly be for Gilbert, but now that it was tossed about casually, even in privacy, made Gilbert a little flustered.

"Well alright then I suppose we should get started…" Francis spoke as Gilbert watched him.

Gilbert eyed him for so long and watched at the graceful way he moved his lips and the small but deliberate gestures his hand made as he spoke. He saw the way Francis' hair tend to glisten even in such a mild light as the morning. He had always noticed these things but he had always been quiet not to make any word of it, else he'll be assumed of something else other than a friend. He noticed his voice, which was, aside from accented, was smooth and always sure of itself. Like there was absolutely nothing questionable about whatever he says… which worked perfectly for him, as he never doubted, never questioned whatever Francis says. He knew Francis to be at most, an honest man. He never lied about anything that need not be lied about.

This led him to a small memory of last night… a pleasant memory just before he fell asleep completely…

Fingers snapped in front of his eyes and he was brought back to the present, where Francis was looking at him with an eyebrow raised and his arms folded on his chest.

"… Gilbert! Are you even listening to me?" he asked and then shook his head with a small laugh "Did you even hear what I said?"

Gilbert could only give him a meaningful smile and a pat on his shoulder before leaning towards his ear playfully. Francis froze in his place as the proximity of their closeness began to register in his mind and he could feel the soft breath on his neck. Much to his surprise, Francis felt Gilbert's lips on his cheek and then he heard the soft whisper

"Ja. I definitely heard you." Then he drew back to face Francis, the memory of last night and the sight of him now, merging into one. "Ich liebe dich Frankreich"


End file.
